There are many different kinds of computers in use today. The term “computer system” will be used herein to refer generally to any device or combination of devices that is capable of processing information to produce a desired result. Some examples of computer systems include personal computers, hand-held computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers, mainframes, supercomputers, minicomputers, workstations, microcomputers, microcontrollers, and the like.
The term “printing device,” as used herein, refers to any device that produces human-readable text and/or graphics on an output medium, such as paper. Some examples of printing devices include computer printers, fax machines, scanners, multi-function peripherals, copiers, and so forth.
To facilitate communication between a computer system and a printing device, the computer system may include a driver for the printing device. The driver for a particular printing device allows applications on the computer system to be able to communicate with the printing device without knowing specific details about the printing device's hardware and internal language.
Overlays are sometimes used in connection with printing documents. An “overlay” refers to text and/or graphics that may be superimposed on a document during printing. The text and/or graphics that comprise an overlay may be included in an overlay file.
An overlay file may include content that is likely to be used in connection with multiple documents. For example, it may be desirable for an organization's logo to be positioned at the top of all of the organization's documents. To achieve this, an overlay file may be created that includes the organization's logo as a header. Whenever an employee prints a document, the content from the overlay file may be automatically merged into the document, so that the organization's logo is included as a header within the printed document.
Unfortunately, known systems and methods for creating and using overlay files with printing devices suffer from various drawbacks. In at least some known approaches, overlay files may be dependent on specific applications. Thus, an overlay file that is created using Microsoft Word® may not be useable with another word processing application, such as Corel WordPerfect®. Alternatively, or in addition, overlay files may be dependent on specific printer languages. Thus, an overlay file that is created for a particular printing device may not be useable with another printing device.
In view of the foregoing, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for creating and using overlay files with printing devices. Some exemplary systems and methods for creating and using overlays with printing devices are described herein.